AK 203 order terms finalised, wait for India to make next move

All terms for manufacturing assault rifles at the Amethi factory have been settled and the ball is now in the Indian court to place orders and initiate the contract, Russian officials monitoring the inter-governmental agreement say.

The ongoing restructuring of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) is not expected to have any impact on the joint venture for the production of AK 203 rifles and a complete transfer of technology is expected to be achieved within 32 months of the contract.

“We have finalised all the terms of the deal. The final approval is to be taken by the Indian government… We believe that the structural changes in the OFB will not affect the JV on the production of AK 203,” Dmitriy Sugaev, head of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC), told ET. The top official said the assault rifles could be supplied on an urgent basis as well, if required by India.


The plan to manufacture 6,71,427 AK 203 rifles has been under discussion for almost two years, with the contract stipulating 100% transfer of technology and possible exports in the future from the Indian plant. The factory in Amethi, the former Gandhi bastion, was inaugurated in 2019 but production has not commenced as the formal order is yet to be placed.

Sources say that detailed discussions on pricing, details of technology transfer and training have been completed and a formal go ahead is needed from the defence ministry before it is moved for approvals to the cabinet committee on security.

Army Chief Gen MM Naravane had said in January that the final contract is expected soon and that all “last minute hitches and hiccups” have been ironed out by both sides. The rifles –– to be made by a joint venture between Russia’s Kalashnikov and the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) –– are expected to cost around Rs 70,000 a piece, with a complete technology transfer at the core of the deal.

As the AK 203 has not yet been finalised, the army had placed import orders for the Sig Sauer 716 assault rifles, which were priced at Rs 89,000 a piece.